TURNING A BISCUIT AD INTO A FILM

TitleTURNING A BISCUIT AD INTO A FILM
BrandCAMPBELL ARNOTTS
Product / ServiceARNOTTS BISCUITS
CategoryD01. Use of Brand or Product Integration into a Programme or Platform
EntrantY&R ANZ Auckland, NEW ZEALAND
Idea Creation Y&R ANZ Auckland, NEW ZEALAND
Media Placement Y&R ANZ Auckland, NEW ZEALAND
Production CURIOUS FILM Auckland, NEW ZEALAND
Production 2 LIQUID STUDIOS Auckland, NEW ZEALAND

Credits

Name Company Position
Josh Moore Y&R New Zealand CCO/CEO
Tom Paine Y&R New Zealand Executive Creative Director
Kate Lill Y&R New Zealand Art Director
Ellen Fromm Y&R New Zealand Copywriter
Zoe Edwards Y&R New Zealand Copywriter
Jono Key Y&R New Zealand Managing Director / Head of Planning
James Johnston Y&R New Zealand Client Services Director
Rachael Williams Y&R New Zealand Account Director
Amelia Daly Y&R New Zealand Account Manager
Sacha Moore Y&R New Zealand Head of TV Production
Anna Kennedy Y&R New Zealand Head of TV Production
Marique Knight Y&R New Zealand Senior Producer
Amanda Sasano Y&R New Zealand Head of Motion Graphics
James Wendelborn Y&R New Zealand Head of Design
Caroline Wilkie Y&R New Zealand Designer
Paul Gibson Y&R New Zealand Head of Studio/Print Production
Nicky Greville Y&R New Zealand National GM Media
Cath Hamilton Y&R New Zealand National Trading Director
Dorota Girdlestone Y&R New Zealand Group Business Director - Media
Marie-Claire Manson Y&R New Zealand Media Communications Strategist
Dylan Hardie Y&R New Zealand Media Planner / Buyer
Emma Cockburn Y&R New Zealand Performance Media Director
Greg Whitham Y&R New Zealand Head of Digital
Petra Skoric Y&R New Zealand Executive Digital Producer
Terry Yee Y&R New Zealand Senior UX/Digital Designer
Ash Crockett Y&R New Zealand Digital Developer
David McNeil Arnott's VP Marketing, Asia-Pacific
Nik Scotcher Arnott's Marketing Director, ANZ - Treating
Vanessa Di Gianni Arnott's Marketing Manager NZ

The Campaign

Casting New Zealand’s most loved coach and least likely movie star as our hero allowed us to redefine the sport endorsement category for New Zealand. For the first time in recent memory an All Black endorsement captured the imagination of the nation. Tapping into the rising end of days’ trend, the campaign introduced New Zealand to an absurd fictional tale: the nation had taken biscuits for granted, triggering a catastrophic apocalypse. The primary execution was a film titled: ‘Apocalypse Steve Hansen, don’t lose your biscuit’. Everything else built attention and scale for the film, with each touch point designed to replicate a huge movie release: television ads became trailers, consumer promotions became casting calls and outdoor became movie posters. Each execution encouraged customers to participate in the campaign, and directed them towards the biscuit aisle.

Creative Execution

On the 13th of August 2017 2 x 60 second film trailers aired on TV, in Cinema and on YouTube, offering two theories as to how the apocalypse may have begun; both focused on missing biscuits as the cause. “Movie posters” emerged on billboards, buses, mall doors and cinema nationwide. On the 3rd of September 2017 our heroes launched a rallying cry for Kiwis to play their “part” in the film, subverting typical consumer promotions associated with the All Blacks. To maintain momentum, we ran dynamic countdown banners across the hottest entertainment sites, while an extended trailer ran across national television. With all this momentum in place, on 9th of November 2017 the film hit cinemas with 1,500 screenings across the country as a special feature Finally, we released the film on YouTube, where it premiered as top content – showing the country how Arnott’s biscuits had saved the world.

Arnott’s total portfolio sales lifted +8.6% - Based on YOY comparison sales during 13-week campaign period YOY (removing price promotion) Featured products, ‘Shapes’ and ‘Tim Tams’ increased significantly - Shapes sales up +33% YOY vs. total savory category +5.4% - Tim Tams sales up +10% YOY vs. total chocolate category +0% Response rate Total shopper entries: 1664 Total number of auditions: 430 Film views: Over 6.6 million - Total 18.4million earned media impressions - Over 1,500 screenings of the short film in cinema - Over 6.6 million views of our film content (1.4x NZ population) ‘Never, ever lose your biscuit’ became the catchphrase of 2017, with All Blacks quoting it in press conferences, news anchors dropping it into features. Once the campaign message of ‘Never, ever lose your biscuit’ sunk in, Arnott’s biscuits were reinstated as a staple in the weekly shopping basket. Regular purchase (weekly) percentage increased 9.6%

In 2017, Arnott’s became the official biscuit of New Zealand’s rugby team - the All Blacks. Rather than a sponsorship activation, the campaign centered around a film: ‘Apocalypse: Steve Hansen, don’t lose your biscuit’. The constantly evolving campaign challenged formulaic sports sponsorships and prompted the public to change the way they understood the biscuits category, and the Arnott’s brand. Every media placement was designed to replicate a movie release: television ads became trailers, consumer promotions became casting calls and outdoor became movie posters.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

Target Audience Our audience (most of the NZ nation) considered biscuits an occasional treat. We needed to position them as a domestic staple. While 80% of the country brought at least one pack of Arnott’s biscuits annually, only 8% included our products as part of their weekly shop. People loved what we were selling, but our biscuits were easy to ignore and leave behind on the shelf. Approach Every piece of communication had to become a talking point; earning a disproportionate amount of attention, creating momentum through to purchase. We needed to capture the attention of the nation: fast tracking scale and resurrecting the love for Arnott’s biscuit portfolio. Call to action “Never, ever lose your biscuit,” was a direct appeal from Steve Hansen to the consumer. As a line, ‘Never lose your biscuit’ was naturally colloquial, easily internalized and ready-made to substitute into consumer’s ‘stay calm’ situations.